The ‘Saving Shireoaks & Worksop through NFM’ project has been funded by the Environment Agency as part of the £25 million Natural Flood Management Programme and will see £1.1million invested in nature-based solutions to increase flood resilience while providing wider benefits to the environment, nature and society. 

Following the development of a detailed business and delivery plan, the Wildlife Trust team is now in place and working with partners and landowners to put the exciting plans into action.

The programme forms part of the Government’s commitment to increasing flood resilience across the country by investing in natural flood management (NFM) processes which either protect, restore, or in some cases mimic, natural functions within floodplains and river catchments, and along our coast, to slow the passage of water and store water away from sensitive areas.  Funding was awarded as part of the largest package of government investment to date in natural flood management schemes – with applications being reviewed by the Environment Agency, Defra and Natural England.

Having long championed the NFM approach, Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust is delighted that our proposal to work with farmers and other landowners has been backed – building on our local relationships and experience gained whilst acting as Catchment Hosts for the River Idle. 

The Trust has appointed an experienced project team to deliver the programme – fresh from successfully delivering the charity’s largest ever river habitat restoration programme – which also included NFM features. The Trust now plans to work closely with local landowners to develop a range of features, including ponds, bunds, leaky barriers, wetland habitat, tree planting and the restoration of floodplain connections to help slow and store water along the catchment upstream of the River Ryton. This will help alleviate the risk of flooding in areas such as Shireoaks, Rhodesia and Worksop – which have been impacted by flooding in recent years.

L-R The project team - Jennifer Kril, Living Rivers Officer at Derbyshire Wildlife Trust with Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust’s Ian Higginson, Ryton NFM Project Manager with team member Lena Olley NFM Ryton Project Officer.

Speaking about the delivery phase of the Scheme, Ryton NFM Project Manager Ian Higginson said: 

“We are very excited to now be able to deliver the project and are already reaching out to local landowners, arranging site visits and looking at nature-based solutions to reduce flood risk across the Ryton catchment. We are very pleased and encouraged by the response of everyone so far and are looking forward to meeting more landowners and communities over the coming months. We are hoping to start initial works on some sites later this year.  With the support of landowners in the catchment we hope to be able to store and slowly release enough floodwater to fill over 30 Olympic sized swimming pools."

As well as reducing flood risk, this approach helps deliver new wetlands and ponds which provide important habitat within the catchment - these features also provide opportunities for sediment to settle, improving water quality. As well as providing habitat for species such as amphibians and the threatened water vole, ponds and wetlands can also provide ideal spawning area for fish. 

As we face up to the challenge of tackling the climate and nature crises and look for more sustainable and affordable solutions to prevent flooding from damaging homes and business premises, this latest support for Natural Flood Management is very welcome. In addition to embracing natural solutions, this approach harnesses the benefits of partnership – with charities and councils collaborating with landowners to develop and deliver schemes that help the wider community.

Ian added:

“Hopefully, the scale of investment in this and other NFM projects across the country will go a long way to ensuring that natural techniques become much more widely used to tackle the increasing frequency and severity of flooding – complementing more traditional engineered defences such as flood walls. The funding will help protect people, property and businesses from the impacts of flooding whilst helping boost groundwater stores, protecting valuable soils, locking away carbon and enhancing greenspaces for communities. By embracing natural solutions, we can make our landscape and our towns and cities much more climate resilient whilst putting nature into recovery.”

Jennifer Kril, Living Rivers Officer at Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, added:

“Derbyshire Wildlife Trust is thrilled to be working with landowners, local communities and partners to implement nature-based solutions with a catchment-scale approach to help reduce flood risk downstream in Nottinghamshire, and across the river catchment. By creating space for water and wildlife, we’re not only helping protect communities but also building a wilder, more resilient landscape for the future.”

Notes to Editors

Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust

Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, a registered charity, manages dozens of nature reserves throughout the county. It advises local authorities, community groups and landowners on nature conservation issues, and makes a major input into decision-making on planning matters and other issues. 

The Trust is part of a nation-wide network of local Trusts which work to protect wildlife in town and country - The Wildlife Trusts. The Wildlife Trusts now boast over 900,000 members. For more information, please see our website: nottinghamshirewildlife.org 

NFM features likely to be developed as part of the project include:

• Leaky Dams (woody material in watercourses that can help reduce peak flows, mimicking the work of the Beaver – Nature’s engineers!)
• Storage ponds (holding larger volumes of water and allowing slower infiltration)
• Tree planting (help slow the flow of surface water, reduce erosion and uptake litres of water each day)
• Scrapes (shallow depressions that store water during wet conditions and support wetland habitats)
• Bunds (raised mounds of earth that hold back surface water and allows it to drain slowly)
• Floodplain reconnection (allowing the water in the river to connect to its natural floodplain where possible)

The Wildlife Trusts

The Wildlife Trusts are experts in natural flood management. For decades we have been delivering solutions to slow the fl ow of water through catchments, helping to reduce flood risk for homes and businesses in our communities and local areas. As of 2024, across the UK we have over 150 different schemes. Many of these schemes are being delivered in partnership with farmers, landowners and local authorities across rural and urban areas.

In March 2025, The Wildlife Trust published a report  - Assessing the multiple benefits of Natural Flood Management which concluded:

Communities are concerned about climate change and the impacts climate change is currently having on their community (96% of respondents, n=345). Communities have seen an increase in flooding in the past five years and are concerned about the future impacts of flooding

Communities located near NFM projects see benefits in reducing the impact from flood risk, and increased biodiversity, recreational opportunities and health & wellbeing.

Over a 30-year period, every £1 spent on NFM, can deliver £10 in additional benefits.

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust is a charity that is wilder by nature! We have a clear vision for a Wilder Derbyshire, where people and wildlife thrive side by side.

We’re working to deliver bold and imaginative, landscape-scale change with more wild spaces and richer habitats for nature. But we knowe can’t do it alone. We strongly believe everyone has a part to play in Nature’s Recovery.

By inspiring and enabling people to take transformative action, we’re helping to bring nature back to the heart of our communities. Through rewilding initiatives, ambitious partnerships, and community-led efforts, we're creating endless ways for nature and people to thrive together.

Registered charity no. 222212.

Company limited by guarantee no. 715675

Environment Agency 

 The National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy (FCERM) for England sets the ambition to mainstream NFM alongside broader flood resilience options.  This will help enhance flood and coast resilience and nature recovery as set out in the FCERM Strategy Roadmap to 2026.

The new national assessment of flood and coastal erosion risk shows that around 6.3 million properties (homes and businesses) in England are in areas at risk of flooding from one or a combination of sources:

• rivers
• the sea
• surface water

With climate change the total number of properties in areas at risk from rivers and the sea or surface water could increase to around 8 million by mid-century. In other words, 1 in 4 properties in England will be in areas at risk of flooding from rivers and the sea or surface water by mid-century.

Planning ahead to mitigate the impacts of flooding is essential. Crucially, taking steps to prepare for flooding can reduce the damage to your home and possessions by around 40%, research shows.

Make sure you know what to do:

• Take steps to prepare for flooding
• Sign up for flood warnings by phone, text or email
• Check your long-term flood risk from rivers, the sea, surface water, reservoirs, and groundwater

We’re building on NFM successes

In December 2022, the Environment Agency published a report evaluating the £15 million national Natural Flood Management Programme. Across 60 pilot projects, the programme created the equivalent of 1.6 million cubic metres of water storage and increased the flood resilience of 15,000 homes. In addition, it contributed to nature recovery, by improving 4,000 hectares of habitat and 610 kilometres of river and planting 100 hectares of woodland.